Misgivings of a Migraine
by Little-dhamphir
Summary: Jim develops a migraine so severe he is reduced to tears and is unable to meet bones after his shift ends. How will Bones respond to finding his friend in obvious medical distress within Kirk's quarters? please R&R, it helps me improve.
1. Chapter 1

Here's a new story that I have been thing about in my head for a while now. I have the very basic outline written up with what happens over a three day period, I still have a few supporting details to develop before I can completely type out this story. For now, I have posted this introductory piece involving Kirk and McCoy (non-slash) for you to enjoy. Let me know what you think of it. If I get a decent amount of response, i'll continue typing up this story for you to enjoy at Kirk's displeasure. Hehe.

Went back through and fixed any spelling and grammar mistakes spotted as well as elaborated on a few parts of the story. The chapter word content went up from 1,704 to 2,052. As far as the medical knowledge goes, I'm currently in Paramedic school so this information should be pretty accurate (since I am also a registered Emergency Medical Technician). Be on the Look out for an Easter egg or two in this story since this is the 50th year of Star Trek!

\- Little-dhamphir

* * *

Kirk woke up to one of the most painful migraines he had ever had in a long time. As he opened his eyes the room spun with a force that he immediately retched the meager contents of his stomach onto his sheets. He turned the opposite direction he was lying in bed and tried to blindly reach his communicator on his bedside table while tears rolled down his face. _"Get McCoy. Bones can help."_ Was his thought mantra he repeated over and over.

 _"Shit!"_ he thought to himself once he realized that he left his communicator on the kitchen counter before going to bed a few hours ago. Now there was no way to call for McCoy's help that he desperately needed.

It had been years since a migraine of this degree had reared its ugly head. The last time he had one, he passed out from the pain on two separate occasions just trying to get to a medical center. This was one of the extremely rare occasions that he sought medical attention without fear or trepidation of being around doctors and their hyposprays. Since he was highly allergic to the pain medications that help alleviate the symptoms of the migraine he had previously, he begged them to sedate him. It was the only way to escape the pounding pain he felt from them that made it feel like his brain would literally pop inside his skull.

This time, there was no way Kirk could even stand, let alone crawl to get help. The next round of nausea started to build up he quickly rolled across the bed so he could purge a fair amount of stomach acid. His throat was burning and he could barely breathe – in essence he was choking and no one on the ship had any idea what has happening to him and he was too incapacitated to seek the help he desperately needed.

* * *

 **Three Days Earlier:**

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Jim groaned when he heard his bedside alarm go off. It was his fifth consecutive day working and he felt tired. His hand reached out from under the bed covers and struck the snooze button. Five more minutes he told himself. Then he would get up and get dressed for one last shift before his scheduled two day break. No captain duties to deal with unless a life or death emergency occurred on the enterprise. It would be a welcome break since Bones happened to be off for two days as well. It would give them both a chance to chat and catch up while drinking a beer or two and watching the 2256 Olympic Games that was being held on the Earth city of Istanbul Turkey for the third time since the Olympic games began hundreds of years ago.

Soon, the five minutes turned into fifteen as he dozed. When his alarms went off once more he looked at his clock – and saw that he was late.

"Shit!" Kirk said aloud to himself as he sprung from his bed and fumbled towards his closet. He grabbed all the clothes he needed as he made a quick dash to his bathroom. The sooner he was done with his shift, the better. He rapidly brushed his teeth as well as his hair before splashing some water on his face in an effort to try and wake himself up quicker.

As he emerged from his bathroom, he looked at the nearby clock on his wall to see that his shift had now started. It took 4 minutes to get to the bridge from his room at a steady walking pace, but he was fast enough to make it there in two minutes at a run. Which is what he did.

"Keptin on ze bridge." Kirk turned to Chekov and nodded at him in acknowledgement. He moved to his chair to take his seat. There was a PADD laying on the chair demanding the captain's attention. He looked at the PADD and read the titles for the latest ship reports he knew it was going to be a very long day.

"Keptin we are entering the Kirrillian Star System."

"Thank you Ensign Chekov for the Update. Chekov polarize the view screen so we can see the system. Mr. Sulu, proceed forward into the star system at propulsion."

"Aye sir."

"Yes Keptin!"

* * *

It was around midday that Kirk was able to take his scheduled meal break. All morning long he had been completing electronic document reports from his seat on the bridge in addition to completing and authorizing inventory replenishment documents, authorizing crew schedules for the next month, sending written communication to Starfleet command about the latest scientific observations on the Kirrilian Star Cluster among other paperwork duties.

Lunch today was the usual consisting of the same human foods most of the crew liked to consume on a daily basis from sandwiches, soups, and salads to the more exotic foods like the Vulcan Plomeek Broth, Andorian Krill Beast Steak and even Stuffed Tellarite Trotter for those who were adventurous. Jim chose the Cesar chicken salad. He added mandarin oranges to it and chose a red apple for his side. A quick glance down the buffet line showed Bones debating between the two Earth lunch specials for the day: Jambalya and Apple-glazed Sausage coins over a bed of butter creolé rice.

Now that he had an hour to decompress from staring at the small PADD screen for 7 hours, he enjoyed the welcome relief of hearing Bones bitch about his day from across the table where the two sat – until he heard what some of the crew had been doing on the holodeck.

"God Jim! It's been a chaotic day having to treat certain imbecilic crew members who dared each other to experience a bullet ant sting! I mean really, do they not have any other goddamn things that they could do on their free time that does not involve taking on bets injecting venom into their _goddamn bloodstream_?!" Bones was livid. It was a look that Jim had seen on multiple occasions when that anger was directed at him when he was an uncooperative patient under McCoy's care.

"Bullet ant stings? Never heard of that before." Jim spoke aloud briefly as he gave Bones a pointed look. Bones was beginning to make a scene in the mess hall during his tirade. Bones was observant enough to hear the change of tone in Kirk's voice as well as see where his eyes had wondered to know that he should lower his voice so he wouldn't cause a larger commotion than he already did.

"Yeah Jim. This type of ant hails from Central and South America. If you get stung, you endure excruciating pain from twelve to twenty-four hours – or even more – depending on how long the symptoms last. It's known as the most painful insect sting on planet Earth. Some whats-it tribe makes their boys get stung repeatedly as a way to show they are ready to be men. Quite barbaric if you ask me!" Bones rambled on twisting his hand nonchalantly in the air for emphasis.

"Anyway, 4 of your idiotic crewmen from the astrometric and biology departments got into a drunken, heated argument whether or not the bullet ant's sting was really that painful. So they created a rainforest holographic simulation of the Amazonian Rainforest to hunt these ants down by tree bases. They each collected ants and then the imbecilic retards watched each other get stung shortly after turning off the safety parameters on the holodeck. If it wasn't Crewman Marcus who heard them screaming from outside the room as she passed the holodeck 2, there would have likely been a crewman death."

Kirk sat in silence, his meal all forgotten as he wondered just how bored his crew was getting if they will willing to participate in life-threatening activities to alleviate their boredom two and a half years into their five year mission.

" – now two of those crewmembers are sedated until the effects of the venom on their bodies begins to wear off." Bones continued to ramble on.

"So, what symptoms are they experiencing right now?" Kirk was one who did not like medicine or anything that had to do with it or the medical bay. He tried to avoid that field of science whenever he could. He understood that his best friend was a brilliant trauma surgeon, so whenever Bones ranted about his job outside of medical bay, Kirk sat in silence and listened to Bones' rants long enough to ask certain questions that helped conclude the conversation.

"Other than the excruciating pain caused by the ant's neurotoxin? Let's see… there's fever, cold sweats, temors, nausea, vomiting, cardian arrhythmias, and in some cases death of one is allergic to ant venom." Bones ticked off each symptom with his fingers as he rattled them off. "They're damn lucky someone heard them or else Ensign Carleson would be dead. Turns out he's allergic to ant venom and went into cardiac arrest upon arrival to MedBay. Myself and three nurses were able to successfully able to revive him and he's been one of the two patients who have been sedated since their arrival."

"Well, keep me updated on their health statuses throughout the day." Kirk replied after McCoy finished listing the symptoms off.

"Sure thing Jim." Was Bones' response as he stabbed his fork into another piece of sausage that was in his bowl of Jambalaya.

Suddenly, the lights flickered twice before going off in the mess hall. Conversations stopped as people looked around in darkness.

"What's going on?" One crew member said aloud

"I can't see anything!" another said.

"Are we under attack?!" Came a third panicked voice.

"Why hasn't the reserve power come on?!" Another voice from far across the room quipped out.

"Everyone remain calm!" Kirk's spoke aloud as he projected his stern voice across the darkened mess hall. "The lights will come on soon once power has been restored to normal function. In the meantime, return to your posts and he careful when exiting the mess hall. We don't want any injuries."

"Aye sir!" came from several crew member responses. Kirk and McCoy could hear many chairs scrape against the floor as they slid back as the occupants stood up and followed the captain's orders.

"Well Bones, I need to go to engineering to find out why there's a power outage on my ship." As Kirk stood up as well to head out the mess hall. A few crew members had a "bright" idea to activate their PADDs and use the artificial lighting to navigate their way out the mess hall and into the darkened hallway to return to their posts.

"Stay safe Jim and for the love of God don't do anything retarded that will cause you to end up in my MedBay." Came Bones' gruff response.

Jim Kirk flashed Leonard one of his devious grins before departing with the crowd. Seven hours in, five hours left to go.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks to those who reviewed the first chapter as well as those who liked and or followed the story. It is greatly appreciated. Here is the second chapter to the short story. A little short and slow but it ends in a decent cliff hanger so you've been warned. Please review if you can, it helps!

\- Little-dhamphir

* * *

Chapter 2:

"Kirk to Mr. Scott." Kirk was wasting no time at all as he headed towards engineering to see what was the cause of the power outage on the deck he was currently on. As Captain, it was his duty to stay up to date with any system failures the Enterprise was experiencing and how his crew (himself included) planned on resolving these issues before they became serious.

"Scott here."

"Has engineering been made aware of a dual-system power outage on deck eight? From what I could tell it seems to be willing

despread across the entire floor."

"Aye Sir! That would be correct. Engineering was fixing a few power relays on deck nine and somehow caused a circuitry mishap on the floor above. You are correct about the entire level being without power. It should be returned within the hour."

"Good." Kirk was pleased it was not anything more serious. "Have any of the other systems on deck eight experienced difficult technicalities?" Kirk wanted to be sure that life support systems as well as the gravitational plating was indeed functioning normally.

"Negative sir at the moment. Power seems to be the only affected system." Kirk knew at this point that there was no longer any need to continue to engineering to discuss this issue with Scotty any further. Scotty clearly had the situation under control.

"Let's keep it that way. I will be heading back up to the Bridge. If you need to communicate with me, start there. Kirk out." _Kirk_ sighed as he headed back up to the Bridge. He, like many others never had a chance to finish enjoying their lunch break before it had been interrupted.

As such, the hour was now up and he had no choice but to return to his post to finish the duration of his shift. Upon entering the Bridge, he looked around and noted three crewmen stand to leave and take their scheduled meal break.

"Keptin on ze Bridge!" Chekov announced once more. People looked up as they saw their Captain enter the Bridge and acknowledge his presence. Kirk nodded back before addressing his team for today.

"For those who have not taken a lunch, I suggest you head elsewhere where you can sit down and eat. Power is out on Deck eight and the cafeteria is closed for now until power has been restored.

Various groans and mumblings were heard across the bridge as the next wave of personnel stood to take their scheduled breaks – most likely in their shared quarters. As Kirk was taking his seat again in the middle of the bridge.

* * *

Throughout the remainder of his shift, Kirk was able to get caught up on all the reports that needed to be signed and sent off to Starfleet. Then he was able to proceed in completing and signed all reports that Starfleet also required to be sent to them over the next forty-eight hours while Kirk was off on break. With luck this should be an easy shift to finish.

As he was completing the remaining documents, Kirk was hailed.

"Scott to Mr. Kirk. As you requested I am updating you now to inform you that the power issues have been resolved on both decks eight and nine. All system on both decks are functioning within normal parameters. I have no other news to report at this time."

"Thank you Mr. Scott for the update. Kirk out."

"Spock to Captain Kirk." Came a second hail.

"Jim here."

"Captain, please report to the astrometric laboratory. There appears to be an anomaly within the Kirrilian Star System that you should see." Spock's tone seemed to express him being perplexed. It was not something he did often which made Kirk uneasy.

"On my way." Kirk replied as he was standing up. Kirk disconnected the communication line.

"Mr. Sulu, you have the Bridge."

"Aye Sir."

* * *

As the door slid open to the Astrometric's Laboratory, Kirk was greeted by his stoic first officer. When Spock felt he had to deliver difficult, uncomfortable news, he typically placed his hands behind his back. Shortly after, two of Enterprise's security officers entered the room as well.

"Mr. Spock, status report." There was no need to exchange idle pleasantries when it came to communicating with Vulcans. The best approach was a direct approach.

"Captain, I was summoned to the Astrometic's laboratory by several staff members here who noted an anomaly within part of a star cluster." As he spoke, Spock moved to the main view screen in the Astrometric's laboratory.

As Spock pointed in an area of the star system, Jim could see that a few of the stars seemed to be somewhat blurred, as if they were distorted. To put more emphasis on this abnormal findings, one of the laboratory technicians enlarged an area of the star clusters to show the Captain what they originally found.

"Upon closer look at this cluster in comparison to other clusters, you can see the abnormality the most clearly."

"Most clearly?" Kirk prompted.

"Correct Captain. This is not the one only cluster that shows distortion. There are two others as well." The screen zoomed back out to standard screen. From there, Spock pointed to other other two abnormal star clusters.

"So, why is this a concern?" Kirk could see the abnormalities well, however, that did not mean that the abnormalities were indeed abnormal. The Kirrilian Star System had never been charted before. There was no way of determining odd findings if there was nothing to compare the findings to.

"If I may Commander Spock," One of the female astronomists chose this opportunity to answer the Captain's question. "The observation is odd because these distortions have not been observed in any other part of the star system since we began charting this region several hours ago. They seemed to have appeared out of nowhere and it appears as if these distortions are following us…" The ensign's statement was odd indeed. Her tone and facial expressions showed even she thought it seemed odd to admit that the stars were moving.

"Are you saying that the stars are moving alongside of us?" Kirk was in disbelief and was beginning to wonder if his crew was trying to pull a rather elaborate prank on him.

"No, Captain. The stars are inanimate and cannot move. Sensor readings show that the distortions are appearing over new star clusters even after these stars have been catalogued."

"So the distortions are moving?" Kirk elaborated.

"Affirmative Captain." Spock replied.

"Have sensors been able to identify what is causing this distortions?" Crewman Haines asked. Since he was a security tactician, anything moving alongside the Enterprise that they could not see was an immediate and potential threat.

"Negative Captain. With your permission we would like to send a sensor probe out into one of the distortions to obtain further reading. Starfleet regulations state that in the case of any potential new life form first contact, any and all attempts at a first contact must be approved through the ship's captain."

Kirk was silent for a moment. He knew that whatever decision he made in this case would have consequences - be it good or bad. If they were dealing with a new life form, then would sending a sensor probe out to try and determine if it was a new alien species be considered an act of war? And why was he notified of this in the astrometrics laboratory of all places?

kirk stood in silence as he contemplated his next move. Should he approve his crew's request or not? Everything presented to him was logical in nature. As he stared at the view screen, he was able to _see_ something moving alongside the ship. This was not a prank. His crew requested to send a probe out to confirm if they were dealing with a potential alien race, but why send the probe out?

With that, the decision was made. Kirk moved towards the main console in the Astrometics Lab and hailed his crew member who would be of better use for a potential first contact than a probe would be.

"Kirk to Lt. Uhura"

"Uhura here."

"I am sending you the coordinates of a star cluster. Please open a universal channel and send out a standard welcome greeting in the general direction." As Kirk said this, Spock was busy transferring the coordinates to Uhura's console.

"Yes sir."

There was silence on the communications line as Uhura was busy following the captain's commands.

"No response from the coordinates." Uhura responded after a few minutes silence.

"Send a second hail out again."

Kirk heard rapid typing across Uhura's view screen over the communications line. He could picture Uhura listening intently as she listened for any kind of response from the various languages, code, tones and other forms of communication methods she sent out through the communications stream.

"No response Captain after the second hailing attempt."

"Thank you Lieutenant Uhura." Kirk disconnected the line. He looked up to see five CDs staring intently at him as they waited for his next decision.

If they were in fact dealing with a sentient race, why did they not try to return the Enterprise's greeting? Did they startle the potential new race? Or was the distortions being caused by something else entirely?

"I give the Science Division approval to launch a probe in space to further study and collect data from the star system distortions." As Kirk finished, Spock was already typing in the authorization controls that would allow him to send a probe out to collect more data.

Everyone watched the probe be ejected into space as it travelled to the area with the largest distortions noted. As Kirk watched intently to see the results of the outcome from his decision, he new quickly he made a mistake.

"Shields up! Red alert!" Kirk shouted.

The distortions started to ripple as a material ship appeared out of no where. Several green photon torpedoes fired from the ship - destroying the probe. Two more ships decloaked as well.

The klaxon system wailed across the ship. Red lights flashing rapidly. The Enterprise was surrounded by Klingons.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey everyone! Sorry for the late response. I've been on hiatus working two jobs and going to school. I had a free moment and chose to write this chapter for you all to enjoy. I plan on going back and rewiting this story to add to it and correct mistakes I found recently in the first two chapters. Please write reviews, it help some me to be a better writer.

Without further direction from this authors note, I give you chapter three!

* * *

The klaxons continued to wail as the first of the three Klingon ships fired upon the enterprise. Four torpedoes made their way towards the enterprise's outer hull near the Astrometrics lab Kirk and Spock were currently in. Enterprise fired back the same amount of torpedoes in an attempt to destroy the Klingon's weapons. Only one torpedo was destroyed. The first two torpedoes hit the ship with precision. But the shields still held as the ship was rocked backwards a few degrees.

Kirk and Spock immediately exited the Astrometrics laboratory just as the third torpedo hit the ship. It threw Spock and Kirk off balance causing them to strike the walls within the hallway. Kirk was briefly disoriented and vaguely felt Spock shaking him and telling him to get up. To Jim's benefit, the disorientation lasted only a few seconds before he was oriented once more. Kirk accepted Spock's assistance and stood up. Both of them continued run towards the bridge so that they could command the ship from a central location and develop a rapid defensive strategy that would help them live through this ordeal.

It only took three minutes for the captain and his first officer to reach the bridge but for Jim it seemed like it lasted for hours. Slightly out of breath from running so fast and hard, Kirk stepped onto the bridge and stood at command beside his chair.

"Status report!" he barked out loud.

"Shields are holding. Minor damage reported on decks nine to twelve near the science laboratories. Shield defensive frequencies are holding at ninety-one percent. No injuries reported as of yet." Sulu replied effortlessly given the situation they were in.

Two Klingon war birds fired on the Enterprise, sending more torpedoes at them. It was three against one.

"Mr. Sulu, turn us around and get the enterprise to face towards two Klingon ships. Fire multiple rounds of torpedoes and phasers at the Klingon war bird to the furthest right. Overwhelm and incapacitate them! Ensign Checkov, help him!" Both navigators gave their captain affirmative acknowledging this captain's commands.

"Mr. Sulu, turn the ship clockwise about 23.2 degrees. That will give us the advantage to fire on the Klingon war bird to our right and placing us in a defensive position. Divert shields from the right of the ship to the left for extra protection." Spock added as his used his scientific skills to assist in the firefight.

Sulu rapidly moved his fingers across the console in front of him as instructed. The Enterprise was able to turn far enough away before the second round of torpedoes struck the ship. Luckily the ship was able to narrowly avoid many of the torpedoes.

The ship was in position and it began to fire rapidly its counter attack. The first Klingon ship was unable to counter the Enterprise's attacks. Fourteen torpedoes and 3 phaser blasts hit the warbird, incapacitating the ship just as Kirk knew it would be.

The second round of torpedoes and phaser blasts was fired towards the same Klingon ship while the other two ships retaliated and fired upon the Enterprise once more. Simultaneously the Enterprise was hit with multiple torpedoes, it knocked out the shield deflectors near the lower decks. Meanwhile the Klingon war bird on the right hand side was unable to counter and exploded.

Ensign Checkov used this as an advantage to fire on the second Klingon war bird that was in the center. When the Klingons realized what the Enterprise's attack method was, they moved out of the way and used their cloaking devices. Neither ship fired at the enterprise as they moved into a counter position. Enterprise was lucky that the center ship was briefly hit, weakening their shields and its weapons array.

The brief respite from the fire fight gave time for Kirk to develop a strategy.

"Ensign Sulu, take us to warp 8! Get us out of here before the Klingons fire upon us again. Uhura, open a channel frequency and send it to the closest star fleet vessel to let them know we are still under attack. Spock, status report!"

"Captain, preliminary reports are arriving. Shields are holding at seventy-two percent, but dropping. Damage reported on decks nine through fifteen, seventeen and on decks nineteen through twenty-one. Sixteen casualties reported. More reports are coming in. I'll update you as I receive more information".

Sulu did as instructed by his Captain. His fingers moved rapidly across the console to send electronic commands to send the ship into warp. As the ship prepared to go to warp, the Klingon vessels decloaked, they were now in close proximity to the Enterprise. The first of the two ships fired upon the Enterprise, knocking out the warp drive before the ship was able to go to warp.

The Enterprise lurched forward and came to a dead stop. Kirk lost his balance and fell to the floor. His head ached as it struck the floor. The crewmember who was in charge of the security consoles on the bridge immediately fired back as Kirk moved to stand up. The phaser blasts hit one of the ships causing minor explosions to in two different locations; disabling their weaponry. However, the ship remained intact as the second ship fired upon the enterprise.

The enterprise was hit once more, one of the corridor segments on level eleven tore open. The Enterprise began to seal off the area as the ship's computer system automatically deployed the emergency bulkhead procedures. Kirk saw on the view screen two bodies being ejected into space amongst the debris. Two of his crew members now dead as they slowed down and began to float into space.

"Keptin, shields are down; warp drive has been disabled."

"Fire everything we have! Target both war birds and incapacitate them before they destroy this ship!" Kirk shouted. His vision began to darken in the corner of his eyes. He fought it as best as he could. The Enterprise needed its Captain to be alert and oriented for the situation at hand, not incapacitated and unable to command to its bridge.

"Mr. Sulu turn us counter clockwise 32.68 degrees. Enterprise's reinforced hulls will withstand several torpedo blasts. Ensign Checkov, use the impulse thrusters to move the Enterprise upwards to give us a better tactical advantage." Spock commanded. Both men at the console rapidly moved their fingers across the shared console.

"Captain! Starship Endeavor has responded. They've gone to maximum warp and will reach us in three minutes. Captain McCullough has forwarded our message to the next closest starship requesting assistance." Uhura stated.

Both Klingon vessels were hit. The one that had its weapons disabled exploded. Debris flew in every direction. Enterprise was rocked backwards as the blast waves hit them and the other Klingon vessel. The computer consoles and the lights went out briefly before secondary power reserves kicked on. Security teams then fired upon the remaining Klingon vessel just as the other vessel fired back. Phasers hit the Klingon vessel, disabling its shields, cloaking device and its weapons array. The Klingon torpedoes struck the enterprise again, knocking out Enterprise's weapons drive. Enterprise was, essentially dead in the water.

Kirk pressed the button on his chair as he moved to sit in it.

"Mr. Scott, report! How long will it take us to get our warp drive up and running again?"

"Captain" Scotty replied with his Scottish accent. "Warp drive is being repaired as we speak but it will take at least fifteen minutes to get it online just to go to warp 4! That's if we can pull a hail mary."

"Get more crew members to work on it! We need the warp drive within the next few minutes if we are to survive this fight!"

"I'll try to get the warp drive running again but I cannot guarantee anything". Scotty closed the channel.

"Captain, Starship Endeavor is thirty seconds out. Starship Gallivant has hailed our ship and is expected to arrive in fifteen minutes at maximum warp." Uhura stated.

"Mr. Spock, status report on the enemy ship!" Kirk commanded to his first officer.

"The enemy vessel is repairing their weapons array; it should be back online momentary. Shields are still down. It will take us about ten minutes to repair our torpedo launchers. They currently have the advantage. Our odds for survival is 23.4% if we do not get help within twenty seconds."

"Let's hope the Enterprise can defeat those odds." Kirk said in a low voice. "We need the Endeavor's weapons array if we are to take out the enemy ship."

Kirk mentally counted down the seconds to the Endeavor's arrival. They only needed fifteen more seconds if they were to live and see tomorrow. Kirk began to feel dizzy and lightheaded. He felt he had a minor concussion forming and wondered what colorful language Bones would use once he found out his captain was injured again. Ten more seconds was all that remained. Silently he pleaded to whatever entity existed; hoping his crew would survive this encounter.

The remaining Klingon ship began to fire up their weapons array in front of the Enterprise. Their lights flickered because the warbird was drawing any and all power that could be spared. Another attack was imminent. The Klingon ship fired several torpedoes towards the enterprise. The impact would occur within seconds.

Just then, the Starship Endeavor appeared from warp and fired upon the torpedoes and all six torpedoes exploded in front of the enterprise. The Endeavor then fired several rounds of torpedoes and phasers; sparing no ammunition in the process. The remaining Klingon ship exploded; ending the firefight.

Various members on the bridge exhaled with relief. They survived the attack and would live for a while longer. More reports were coming in to Spock's console.

"Captain, the U.S.S. Endeavor is hailing us."

"Open the channel Uhura so I can speak to the Captain."

Uhura did as Kirk commanded. Soon McCullough appeared on screen. "Mr. Kirk, what a surprise it is to see you. I wish it was under better circumstances though". McCullough's solemn expression showed on his face clearly. "Do you need any assistance from our vessel in repairing your ship."

"Yes please." Kirk replied. "Any assistance you could provide would be greatly appreciated."

"Understood. I will send a crew out to your ship by shuttle craft. Our sensors detect that your transporter is down as well as your shuttle bay's main docking deck. They should arrive momentarily."

"Thank you captain McCullough." The communications channel ended. Kirk closed his eyes. He was relieved his crew miraculously survived. Jim knew that there was no time to evacuate all members of his ship if it came to that during the Klingon battle. In fact, he predicted that less than twenty would be able to board the shuttle craft to prepare for launch even if the starship was able to open the bay's doors. Sadly, it was damaged in the process.

"McCoy to Captain Kirk."

"Kirk here."

"So far, twenty-five casualties reported. Five crewmen are dead while more members continue to enter med bay. I've instructed the medical team to begin triaging the casualties. I'll give you an update once triage is completed and treatment has started with the most critical patients."

"Understood" Kirk gruffly responded.

Kirk returned his attention to the view screen. He watched as the USS Endeavor deployed its shuttle craft. Uhura sent information to the shuttle craft's communications channel to give them the exact coordinates needed to use the secondary access on the port side of the ship. There was no reason for Kirk to remain on the bridge and chose to meet the various crew men who would be boarding the ship.

"Mr. Spock, you have control of the bridge" Kirk informed his first officer before stepping onto the turbolift and headed in the direction of his visitors. Silence became a welcome friend as the turbolift descended. He closed his eyes and it almost felt like nothing changed at all. But that was not the case and it was his job to oversee the repairs and get his ship running again before another enemy tried to engage in another firefight with the Enterprise. Thankfully, between the Endeavor and the Gallivant offering aid and assistance, the two starships would allow an extra form of protection and security for the Enterprise. All that Kirk needed was time. Time for repairs, time to eat, time to enjoy peace of mind once he could sleep in his own bed.

It took Jim ten minutes to get to the shuttle hatch in the center of his ship. There he saw four gentlemen and two ladies wearing various red and blue uniforms who stood alongside two of Kirk's security officers who entered the security access codes needed to open the safety hatch. Many of these crewmen and women looked around and saw various sparking wires hanging from the ceiling, cracks in the floor, among other structural deformities on this level alone.

"Good evening Captain. My name is Jaceugin, I am the first officer of the star ship Endeavor. I have come here to provide assistance of much needed repairs. Two of my crewmen are engineers as well as one female. The other lady can provide any necessary medical assistance. She is a federation physician assistant. Myself and the remaining two crew men are from various science divisions are also knowledgeable with the essentials of ship repairs. Where would you like my crewmembers to offer our support to you?"

Kirk looked at the first officer who looked like the species that joined the federation two and a half years ago when Kirk was sent to their planet to provide a peace treaty. Like James, Jaceugin clearly rose through the ranks rapidly. Then again, Star Fleet was still short of several ships and support staff after Nero came close to destroying an entire armada nearly three years ago.

"The Physician Assistant member can head up three levels. She can navigate using the ship maps on the computer screen to head towards sick bay. Last update from my CMO is that triage is underway and that treatment will begin with the most critical first.

Scotty, is my chief engineer needs help with various ship systems. The most critical systems in need of repair are the warp drive, weapons array, and transporter room so we can beam you and your crew off between both of our vessels quickly without having to shuttle crew members back and forth. I am in the process of heading to the engine room to get a verbal update from Scotty and personally assist with repairs myself where needed.

Spock is my first officer who is in charge of the science division. He is currently on the bridge. He would be the one who knows more of what's going on with my ship and can give you further guidance on where you and your other science officer need to go to help with repairs. And… thank you for any assistance you are able to provide for us."

"Understood Captain. You're welcome. It is not often I get to meet a well-known Star Fleet officer. My shuttlecraft navigator will head back to my ship to shuttle the next group of personnel who offer their assistance to you and your crew." Jaceugin then turned his attentions to his fellow comrades that stood behind him.

"Crew, you heard of your assignments, go to your stations and help assist wherever needed." With that, everyone parted ways. Jim directed three of the engineers to the engine bay. Enterprise was his ship and he did not want to waste any crucial time needed to make repairs. The two security officers stayed at their post to receive the second group of federation members as well as help direct them to the areas on the Enterprise that was in need of major repairs.


	4. Chapter 4

So, here's the next Chapter. It's nothing grand, but it is a small but vital piece of the story that shows how Kirk evolves towards the end. With luck, the story should be finished within the next chapter or two. Maybe three…

Hope you enjoy this chapter! As always please review if you can! Reviews do help me improve my writing skills and make my day to read them. Sorry for the wait though for this chapter. Life got in the way between me celebrating my birthday, receiving a conditional job offer for an emergency medical technician basic position within an EMS agency as well as getting to meet a lady whose life I saved this past August after my fellow volunteer EMT teammates and I did CPR on her and got her heart going again. Meeting her, gave me the push to keep writing this story because she reminded me why I want to be involved in patient care and to help provide support to the patient and their family in times of crisis. This desire to help will be reflected in this story as a result.

I promise, my rambling is coming to an end. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Prior to posting the final chapter, I will go back through the entire story and make any last changes that I see fit. I encourage you to reread the story and see if you can locate the modifications I made before reading the conclusion!

Little-dhamphir

Repairs were well underway on the Enterprise. Kirk himself was in the transporter room finishing up some of the repairs he became knowledgeable about during his time he spent with Scotty throughout the few years they served alongside on the Enterprise. There was not much he knew about the ships engines (Scotty wasn't going to let anyone touch Enterprise's ample nacelles if he had anything to say about it) but what he did know was what he learned as Scotty taught Jim some of the basics on electrical, communication, and other main systems in the transporter room. Scotty said that many of the techniques he learned here could be applied to other parts of the ship, and if Jim made a mistake, then it could be fixed while scotty was there without it damaging the ship's systems ship wide. The transporter room could be closed off to the personnel if Scotty needed time to fix anything Jim messed up since the transporter room was not considered a vital life support system.

Kirk became comfortable laying on the ground with his hands moving under the Transporter platform as he worked with the wiring systems. He saw which wires shorted and of these, what wiring the Enterprise had in surplus of to use and replace. It took an hour, but Kirk did it along with engineer Kidd. Prior to making the repairs, Kirk told Spock to oversee any incident management basics resulting from this incident with the Klingons. Spock knew to let Jim know any serious details as needed by contacting him. It wasn't that Jim was neglecting his duties as Captain, he already did his job by keeping everyone alive when they were under attack. He just, did not have any other job need yet unless a critical system malfunction was going to threaten the enterprise.

The transporter room doors slip open. Jim heard two sets of feet walk in. The Enterprise was fortunate enough to still be new and kept its glossy sheen on the floors. He could see the vague reflections of two men; one in a red shirt and other in a blue shirt.

"Captain, Enterprise's repairs are coming along well. The ship should be back up and running within forty-eight hours."

"Thank you Mr. Scott."

"How goes the transporter repairs, captain?"

"Not bad, just finishing replacing some shorted wiring, but I think that should do it. I've been assisting Engineer Kidd with the repairs." Jim stood up after saying that. With his arms raised, he learned back and began to twist his back causing it to make cracking noises going up his spine. Scotty gave him an odd look, but said nothing about it. Scotty however, nodded his affirmative in regards to Jim's response.

To Scotty's right stood Spock who silently kept his hands behind his back. Jim was growing weary and tired. He could feel it in his body. Still, he was the ship's captain. Rest was a luxury he could not always get in times of stress or crisis.

"Captain, I have an update on the ship's repair and casualty status as you requested. Shall I give you the verbal report here on in the nearby conference room down the hall?" Spock interjected after a pause in the earlier conversation.

"Here is fine Mr. Spock."

"At last count for casualties, thirty-two crewmen were reported to have sustained injuries. Eight of those crewmen did not survive. Most of the critical patients have been treated or are currently in surgery. Other crewmen are still being triaged. All damaged science consoles and stations are functionally within normal parameters. Power has been reduced to help conserve energy resources at the present time. Chief Montgomery can give you any pertinent details from the engineering division."

"The ship sustained minor damaged to the transporters and various electronic consoles. Power outage on decks 6 through 10 were noted as well. Those systems have since been repaired. With luck, warp drive should be repaired within the next 24 to 48 hours. However, with the hull breaches, we cannae' go to warp until we can get to the nearest star base to help expedite repairs on the exterior hull.

Currently, I have three engineers repairing a section breach on the outer hull's exterior. All major bulkhead breaches have been sealed off – shields are holding well. Impulse is back online. Gravity plating on deck 23 is being repaired as well. Once its complete, the crewmen and women who sleep on that deck can then get the rest they need. It shouldn't take any longer than four hours."

"Understood" Kirk replied. With that, Scotty excused himself and left the transporter room to continue the repairs.

"Captain, it has been nine hours since the engagement with the Klingons. If my calculations are correct, you have been up for more than twenty-four hours."

"Spock, I'm fine." Kirk mumbled as he resumed his work on the transporter repairs.

"On the contrary Captain, you were injured during the attack. I saw you hit your hit and you were clearly dazed. Starfleet protocols state that you must receive medical attention. If you do not, then you must be declared unfit for duty. As your commanding officer it is my duty to remind you of that so you may continue commanding the Enterprise."

"Duly noted, Mr. Spock. I'll go to med bay after I am done with repairs here."

"Jim, do yourself a favor and go see your friend." Spock's voice took on a slightly different tone than Kirk had previously heard before. Kirk paused in his work to look up at his first officer.

Even though Spock remained stoic with his hands behind his back, his eyes showed concern for Jim. Kirk knew that he would have to go to med bay sooner or later. He too knew the regulations that Starfleet mandated three months ago about Captains and first officer's mandatory medical evaluations after any form of attack. This policy was put in place after the Narada incident.

"Fine, I'll go." Came Jim's resigned response. Jim hated going to medical and tried to avoid the place like it was the plague. He knew better than to challenge Spock and to take his "threat" seriously. Their tentative relationship was still building and it took them months to grow comfortable around each other.

Jim stood up once more, gathered his equipment and placed them to the side wall of the transporter room where a small cart was pushed up against. He and Spock then took their leave to go to the main medical bay together for even Spock was required to obtain an evaluation as well.


End file.
